Saskatoon city hall has never before contemplated a plan with such a high price tag, or such a high dollar figure for savings.

City council is expected to vote Monday on starting consultations and implementing preliminary parts of the low-emissions community plan, which is designed to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Saskatoon by 80 per cent of 2014 levels by 2050.

The plan has been estimated to cost $19 billion, but result in savings of $33 billion over the next three decades. That’s a net gain of $14 billion, but most of the focus has been on the upfront costs.

“I can’t recall, at least in my time, bringing forward anything with a $19-billion price tag on it,” former city manager Murray Totland said. Totland retired from the city two years ago after 41 years at city hall.

Angela Gardiner, the city’s general manager of utilities and environment, pointed out in an emailed statement that the cost covers potential investments that could be made by businesses and individuals as well as the city.

If followed, the plan would result in energy savings worth $440 million per year by 2050, Gardiner said.

The four-phase plan with 40 separate initiatives focuses on converting to electric vehicles, building more energy efficient structures and producing more energy from sustainable sources.

“Such efforts to make buildings and cities more sustainable and intelligent are underway around the globe,” says a statement from Siemens AG, a global tech giant with a Saskatoon branch.

Aaron Genest of Siemens shared with The StarPhoenix a statement in support of the emissions plan that will be forwarded to city council for Monday’s meeting.

There’s been indications that Saskatoon’s business community, in general, opposes the plan.

Darla Lindbjerg, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, appeared at this week’s governance and priorities committee meeting to present the early results from a survey of its 1,500-or-so members.

The survey results as of Aug. 14 revealed the responses from 117 business representatives. It showed that about 55 per cent of respondents either somewhat or strongly oppose the plan, while about 23 per cent strongly support it.

Lindbjerg urged city council to abandon the plan and focus instead on infrastructure (such as bridges) and utilities.

Sara Harrison, chair of the Saskatoon environmental advisory committee, has asked to speak to council Monday, as has Chris Guerette, CEO of the Saskatoon and Region Homebuilders Association.

The initiatives in the plan include a mix of incentives to encourage investment and mandatory building standards, including the possibility of required solar panels on new homes. The latter has proved controversial.

Mayor Charlie Clark posted an Aug. 12 statement on his website in support of the plan, saying, “For far too long the debate about climate change has been stifled by the false idea that there is some impossible divide between the economy and the environment.”

Clark details measures that are already underway that could save the city millions of dollars a year.

Rob Norris, who has publicly declared he’s considering a run for mayor in 2020, called the plan “statist” on Twitter this week.

The plan was endorsed by a 4-1 vote at the committee level this month, so it would need only two more votes to pass at council if all are in attendance and nobody switches votes. Coun. Mairin Loewen has asked to take part in the meeting by phone.

In addition to the overall strategy, council is also expected to consider spending $1.4 million over the next two years to commence planning and implement some early initiatives.

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